Pumpkin Bread

I'm squeezing in one last fall recipe!

A few weeks ago my daughter was learning about pumpkins in kindergarten, and she asked if we could make pumpkin bread. So we picked up a can of pumpkin and went in search of an easy recipe.

Easy is a must for me when it comes to baking. Too much measuring makes me crazy! So this recipe was perfect - easy ingredients and easy directions. The bread turned out perfectly moist and wasn't overly pumpkin-y or spicy like some pumpkin sweets can be. We enjoyed it for breakfast for a few days and I plan on making it again next year as soon as the leaves start to turn and pumpkin is available in the market!

Pumpkin Bread
Source: Cheese Curd in Paradise

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c canned pumpkin

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick baking spray
• Stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine oil, applesauce, vanilla and sugar. Mix until smooth.
• Add the eggs and pumpkin.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour.

Blueberry Banana Bread

Did you know that you can freeze bananas? I buy bananas every few days, and it never fails that one or two of them ripen too quickly. Once that happens I just toss them in the freezer. As of last week I had 8 bananas in my freezer waiting to be used.

One of my favorite recipes using bananas are these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. They work as a breakfast muffin or a sweet treat, and my little one loves them. Last weekend I had some blueberries to use so turned to a recipe from the blog Cookaholic Wife and found a breakfast bread recipe that would use 3 of my bananas.

To use the frozen bananas, take them out of the freezer about 15-20 minutes before they are needed. Then simple peel them and use them in your recipe. You don't even need to wrap them in plastic to freeze them - the peel is so thick that it protects the banana.

It's no secret that I prefer cooking over baking. I despise measuring, so baking can annoy me to no end. But I have really tried to push myself and bake more often over the past few years. One thing I do to make it easier on myself is to measure out every single ingredient first.

Sure, it makes more dishes, but it's easier on me, and it also makes it fun for my 3 year old daughter to help out. She loves picking up all of the bowls, pouring in the ingredients, and then mixing them.

This bread was really easy, both sweet and tart from the flavors of the bananas and blueberries, and was so perfect with my cup of tea on a lazy Sunday morning.

One more picture before I get to the recipe - doesn't it look like the bread is making a funny face at the camera?

Blueberry Banana Bread
Source: Cookaholic Wife

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs. vanilla yogurt (I substituted sour cream for the yogurt)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a (9 inch) loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• In one bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher or fork. Set aside.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Add the applesauce, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Then add in the flour mixture, stirring until combined.
• Fold in the bananas and then the blueberries.
• Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Note, I used my convection bake setting on my oven and this was done in just under 50 minutes)
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

Easy, No-Knead Dutch Oven Crusty Bread

Never buy bread again! 

This amazing crusty bread is the simplest recipe you will ever find for 

homemade bread. Only 4 ingredients and NO kneading. 

I have always wanted to make bread, but have been scared of it. I'm the girl who didn't own a rolling pin until recently - I had been known to roll things out with a wine bottle... But after receiving a Kitchen Aid Mixer for my birthday, I decided it was time to tackle another item on my cooking bucket list... bread. I read through a bunch of recipes and bought bread flour and yeast at the supermarket. Baby steps. 

Then I came across a recipe for a no-knead crusty bread using a Dutch oven to bake it. Really? It seemed too good to be true. I wouldn't even need to use my mixer.

I sat on the couch for a while reading and re-reading the recipe, and finally worked up the nerve to go in the kitchen and make the dough. It was 9 PM on a Saturday night (crazy night, huh?) and I was going to make dough for my first loaf of bread.

I wouldn't lie to you - this bread is seriously the easiest thing to make. If I can make this, so can you. 

First, you mix up the dough ingredients, put it in a bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap so the magic can happen. Make sure to store it in a warm place (if it is too cold it will not rise properly). I was so protective of this dough that I took it up to our bedroom and set it on my dresser since we turn the heat down really low downstairs at night. I was not taking a chance!

The next morning I got up to see that the dough had risen. About an hour and a half before I was ready to eat dinner (and enjoy the bread), I turned it out onto a floured surface, and it looked like this.

I floured my hands to form it into a large ball and was a little nervous at the sticky texture, but the recipe assured me that it was just right. After rolling and forming (note - not kneading), it looked like this -

At this point, you cover it with plastic wrap while your Dutch oven preheats. Then you put it in the oven and let it bake. That's IT.


Knowing of my past baking mishaps and how I don't like to measure, my husband had low expectations. But then we sliced into the bread and it was perfectly - PERFECTLY - crusty on the outside and airy and soft on the inside. I don't even remember what dish I served this with. Honestly, I could have eaten the bread alone and been happy.

Although I still want to try some "harder" bread recipes, this was the perfect recipe for my first time, and I can't wait to make it again. It's so easy that I don't think I'll ever need to write the words "crusty bread" on my shopping list again.

If you want to change the look or shape of your bread, grab some food-safe string or twine and a sharp knife or scoring tool. To make the "pumpkin" shape below, I placed 4 pieces of twine out on a floured board, intersecting in the center, so it almost looks like 8 slices of pizza. Flour the top of the bread, and then tie each string up into the center. If you want to do more decorating, score each of the 8 sections of the bread with 3 lines using a very sharp paring knife or a scoring tool. 

No-Knead Crusty Bread
Source: The Comfort of Cooking

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-3 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast (active dry or highly active dry work best)
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• Special cookware needed: Dutch oven or any large oven-safe dish/bowl and lid* Parchment paper. 

Directions

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast.
• Add the water and stir using a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a shaggy but cohesive dough.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours. Dough will bubble up and rise.
• An hour and a half before you want to eat the bread, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place your Dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• While your Dutch oven preheats, turn dough onto a well-floured surface and, with floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rest.
• After the 30 minutes are up, carefully remove the Dutch oven. With floured hands, place the bread on a sheet of parchment paper and then transfer to the Dutch oven. 
• Bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove cover and bake for 7-15 minutes more, uncovered (just keep an eye on it as cooking times will vary).
• Remove the bread and place on a cutting board. Slice and serve!